Filmmaker Julia Loktev joined Deadline's Doc Talk podcast to talk about her Oscar-shortlisted documentary My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow. The film, premiering on Mubi this Friday, follows young journalists forced to flee Russia for independent reporting. Loktev previewed the upcoming sequel as a potential awards contender.
Julia Loktev, born in the Soviet Union and now based in the U.S., began filming in Moscow in 2021. At that time, journalists like TV Rain anchor Anna Nemzer faced growing government scrutiny. Authorities required them to declare themselves as 'agents of a foreign government,' part of a Kremlin push to discredit those reporting outside official lines, Loktev explained on the podcast hosted by John Ridley and Matt Carey. The documentary, nearly 5½ hours long, captures these women—many young—packing suitcases and escaping before arrests. Loktev highlighted their relatability, noting they 'hate-watched' Emily in Paris and shopped at Zara and H&M, activities familiar to Western viewers. The film echoes the story in the Oscar-winning documentary Mr. Nobody Against Putin, about a teacher exiled for resisting Kremlin propaganda after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. My Undesirable Friends: Part I premieres exclusively on Mubi on Friday, with Part 2 slated for later this year. Loktev described the sequel as a strong awards prospect. The Doc Talk episode, a production of Deadline and Ridley's Nō Studios, is available on Spotify, iHeart, and Apple.
